Distributor finds better way to process card payments at Tool Fair

By Mattie Gorman, Assistant Editor On Apr 23, 2014

John Leonardelli, a Mac Tools distributor in southwestern Milwaukee County, WI, recently learned a better way to process credit and debit transactions as a result of attending this year's Mac Tools Tool Fair.

Before attending the show, Leonardelli ran customer credit and debit cards through a card processing machine. Since returning from the Tool Fair, he has implemented a "hotspot" for his laptop on his truck. This new system allows him to enter a customer's credit or debit card information on a website to process the payment. He has found this a more economical and efficient way to process credit and debit cards.

The time he has saved using this new system translates into financial savings that more than offset the cost of implementing the hotspot on his truck, Leonardelli says.

Leonardelli has only missed one Mac Tools Tool fair in his 27 years as a distributor. He describes it as a place to find new products and to learn from the expertise of his fellow distributors.

"About two weeks before I go, I keep a notebook of questions I need answered. I spend as much time on the floor as possible. I go there to learn," he says.

In the past, he has obtained valuable knowledge from his peers and other tool experts. He might start the tool show with only basic knowledge about a certain product but, “Once a light bulb goes off in my head, I am able to know who to sell to,” Leonardelli says.

Over the course of the year, Leonardelli expects to save over $10,000 from the knowledge he's gained at this year's tool show.